Eighteenth Century English Ideolog

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Journal of English Studies,

vol. 9 (2011) 257-262257

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HICKEY, RAYMOND (ED.) (2010). EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH

IDEOLOGY AND CHANGE. CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITYPRESS. 426 PP.

MARALOSADAFRIEND*

University of Huelva

Among the manuscripts by the Spanish ilustrado Leandro Fernndez de

Moratn at the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid (Spain), readers fond of the eighteenth

century can find a scrap of paper where the enlightened intellectual made timid,

auto-didactic attempts to learn the English pronunciation with lists of words.Likewise, Gulliver found a way to design his own textbooks to learn the languages

of the imaginary lands he visited. Most likely, Moratn and Gulliver were not aware

of the fact that, as Raymond Hickey proves in his volume, the English language

was undergoing a time of linguistic insecurity (20). Many processes involving

grammarians, lexicographers, journalists, pamphleteers, publishers, and speakers

resulted in major changes in the language that lasted to the beginning of the

twentieth century. The edition by Hickey is a helpful source that covers a wide

range of aspects to understand how ideas and attitudes hide in linguistic codes,

in shifts that occur in syntax, in vocabulary, and in pronunciation.

One of the achievements of the book is to show that the label prescriptivetraditionally assigned to the eighteenth century meant a complex process that

involved people, marketing, and prejudices. It exposed social codes, moral values,

gendered attitudes, and class awareness. Although the title of the book creates

expectations aroundEighteenth century English, Hickey and the rest of the authors

have stretched the boundaries, considering as the Preface clearly states that the

period under analysis will be the so-called Late Modern English (roughly 1700-

* Correspondence should be sent to: Dr. Mara Losada Friend. Universidad de Huelva. Departamento

de Filologa Inglesa. E-mail: [email protected]

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH STUDIES- VOLUME 9 (2011), 257-262


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1900). This span of time adjusts to the margins that correspond to a significant

area of Historical Linguistics studies and surpasses the boundaries of another

expression, the long Eighteenth century, much used nowadays in areas relatedto Enlightenment literary criticism.

Stretching boundaries allows the different thematic sections of the book to

cover processes occurring on the onset of the modern period. Many examples

of the late seventeenth century are included. Joan Beal, for example, in chapter

2 (Prescriptivism and the suppression of variation), takes into account the lack

of earlier explicit prescription of English pronunciation towards the change of a

good pronunciation, and proves that later, in the second half of the eighteenth

century, the codification stage is established with variants being prescribed.

Likewise, changes and continuities characteristic of the last period of these latemodern English times are analysed. The careful and rigorous analysis in chapter

11 by Teresa Fanego (Variation in sentential complements in eighteenth- and

nineteenth-century English: a processing-based explanation) proves changes

affecting complement clauses and variations gradually taking place all along the

nineteenth century and reaching present-day English. Yet, another chapter, Richard

W. Baileys (Variation and change in eighteenth-century English), focuses just on

the eighteenth century, following the transformations of the language diverse at

the beginning, far more uniform at the end-at least in documents (198).

The volume is part of the well know series Studies in English Languagethat

so far has systematically covered aspects of national and international varieties of

English, analysing linguistic features of the language in present and past times.

Although Hickey himself had already edited two books in the series (Legacies of

Colonial English: Studies of Transported Dialects(2004) and Irish English: History

and Present-Day Forms(2007), no attempt had been done to devote one single

volume entirely to the eighteenth century. Hickeys initiative is quite welcome,

mainly because the subtitle of the book (Ideology and Change), expands the

scope of the research. It implicates areas related directly or indirectly to language

variation as discourse analysis, pragmatics, rhetoric, education, even including new

aspects about womens contribution to grammar books.Hickey has planned the book carefully. He is the author of the photograph

on the cover that shows the Customs House in Dublin, which the reader can

relate easily to the neo-classical mlangeand social interaction of the century. A

chronological timeline is added, including selected events from late seventeenth

century to 1837, and is followed by a list of English monarchs (from 1689 to

1901). Although the timeline is a very useful source, the variety of events does

not respond to a specific, coherent selection, so we are left to understand it as

a hint of the sophisticated cultural, political, social and religious atmosphere of

the times. On the other hand, the careful arrangement of relevant and updated


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references indicates the high level of the serious research provided. Primary

and secondary sources are listed together with a section of corpora and online

resources. A complementary section entitledLate Modern English Language Studies,presents of the highlights of the period and provides a long list of references in

three parts: Pre-eighteenth century works on English, Eighteenth century works on

English (General, Dictionaries, Grammars-general, Grammars-rhetorical, Works

on pronunciation, Works on elocution, Works on education) and Nineteenth-

century works on English).

As carefully as the closure of the book is planned, the rest of the book is

likewise structured. Hickey cleverly opens the book with a general and informative

approach to the changes affecting language in times of prescriptivism and internal

stability. Many topics battle to be included in this section. Different blocksaccumulate a big variety of works from which the analysis attempts to emerge.

Touching briefly upon important facts of the political context, the author makes

explicit purpose of considering the social life as focus of the book and consciously

avoids discussions on historical events, focusing on the change whose roots lie

in English social life (2). He takes into account different sources to study the

language of the period (hard words with echoes of Latin or Greek, religious,

educational books, grammatical books, relevance of rhetoric, plagiarism, public

oratory, etc.). His general overview turns into a careful account of variation in

language (13), where he deals with aspects such as dialect, linguistic insecurity,

and changes in grammatical constructions to explain the complex process of

codification of English in this century.

This introductory chapter sets forth an array of chapters that construct a

complete composite work. The reader will be pleasantly surprised to understand

from different points of view how changes and variations regarding language took

place and can be studied as mirror of the social context. If Hickey starts off with

points related to eighteenth-century attitudes and concerns, the rest of chapters are

in order to provide the acknowledgement of two simultaneous processes that were

taking place: the progressive and continuous flow of alterations in language and

the attempts to make the standardization official. Contributors tasks prove so. Alsoaspects involving public life are useful sources to trace the changes, the codification

process and a number of particular cases and examples that prove a thorough study

of primary and secondary sources. However, the contents at times overlap, and the

authors themselves realize that, and make references to each others chapters in

the volume. All in all, successful comments tie up contributions guiding the reader

towards a single yet multiple vision of a general context.

The thematic chapters complement each other as they follow general lines

of study. There is an interesting group dealing with the grammatical tradition

in England. The process of change of language cannot be understood without


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womens participation and thus Carol Percys chapter 3 (Womens grammars)

analyses female contribution to the writing of new grammars in the eighteenth

century. Her revision aims at pointing out the advance of both women andEnglish (39). In the context of the rising of vernacular grammars vs classical ones,

the first grammar of modern English by A. Fisher is presented and compared to

other official ones (John Newberys, Buchanans, Betterworths, etc.). A successful

point is made when describing grammars as products of marketing, and as such

they were advertised to females, consumers and important part of the reading

public.

Grammars played an important part in education, and as authoritative goods.

They became tools through which women received rules of behaviour, as Ingrid

Tieken-Boon Van Ostade clearly exposes in chapter 4 (Eighteenth centurywomen and norms of correctness). Readers understand how relevant women

writers (Sarah Fielding, Betsy Sheridan, Elizabeth Clift, Fanny Burney, Mrs Thrale)

followed linguistic norms of correctness, by having a mentor around them (brother,

tutor, friend). They learned much, as shows the comparison between Alice Synges

learning through letters and Thomas Henry Lowth, whose fathers grammar proves

one of the many parental attempts to teach children in the eighteenth century.

Similarly, Karlijn Navest in chapter 6 (Queeney Thrale and the teaching of English

grammar) elaborates on parental teaching, tracing Hester Lynch Thrales strategies

as a teacher of grammar to guide her daughter Hester Maria (Queeney). It brings

a useful review of the authoritative grammars of Lowth, Ash, Newbery or Johnsons

prefix to his Dictionary.

Tieken-Boon furtner amplifies the area of grammar books in chapter 5

(Lowth as an icon of prescriptivism), dismantling the figure of the prescriptivist

and showing that his aims were used by others in the eighteenth century (for

example, he was not the first one to state the double negation). It is a useful

compendium to understand Lowths contribution in a new light, and includes a

serious reflection at the end of the chapter, re-evaluating Lowths contribution as

a normative grammarian within his context, and considering normative linguistics

an independent field within linguistics.The chapters devoted to the study of grammars do not leave out the analysis

of other genres that were also changing. In chapter 16 (Registering the language

dictionaries, diction and the art of elocution) Lynda Mugglestone breaks the myth

of Johnsons dictionary and explores the diversity of other works diversified by

size and price, by audience and addressees, by contents and languages attitudes

(309). In a dense chapter, she analyzes dictionaries as reference models, which

reveal many ideological constructions. Journals and essays are examined in

Chapter 7 (Coalitions, networks, and discourse communities in Augustan England:

The Spectatorand the early eighteenth-century essay). Susan Fitzmaurice brings


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quite a new approach to consider the journal as social network, exhaustively

applying the positive/negative keyword analysis to understand the original nature

of the periodical and the relevance of the so-called Spectator coalition, group ofauthors involved in the original issues.

Other less traditional genres are considered in chapter 15 (Be pleased to

report expressly: the development of a public style in late modern English

business and official correspondence). Marina Dossena analyses the public

style in examples of nineteenth century letters, tracing through keywords the

coexistence of ethical values such as deference, respect and authority.

The pragmatic nature of the changes in language is analyzed in the degree

of politeness (chapter 8) and through speech acts (chapter 9). In Contextualizing

eighteenth-century politeness: social distinction and metaphorical levelling, TerttuNevalainen and Heli Tissari focus on the cultural keywords courtesy, civilityand

politeness, exposing an interesting case of transition in the use of those terms

and their implications. They reach for a sociolinguistic angle to analyse the

appropriation of the words, exploring their use as conceptual metaphors. They

offer a good review of the historical background of politeness and care for cases of

relevant eighteenth-century writers (including Mary Wollstonecraft, Hester Piozzi,

Jane Austen, or Eliza Draper among others). This opens up a very interesting line

of research, taking into account similar terms in different languages (Goldsmiths

use of good-natured man, Prvosts honnte-homme, etc.)

A similar, yet different approach to politeness is taken by Irma Taavitsainen

and Andreas H. Jucker in chapter 9 (Expressive speech acts and politeness in

eighteenth-century English). Based on Searles categorization of speech acts, the

authors focus on expressive acts in the eighteenth century as features of status

in society. The article falls into many generalizations. Chesterton is the leading

eigheenth century author of the relevant politeness literature (159) and the

material used is described as new genres of writing in the eighteenth century,

that is newspapers and novels (160). Interestingly enough, the chapter focuses

on handbooks of etiquette and politeness, rules of behaviour, maxims and

requests. Considering the background of courtesy literature in Medieval times, itelaborates in the specific use of expressive speech acts, such as compliments and

expressions of gratitude. It would have been interesting to discover the reason

that the authors had to select the Gothic novel The Monk as text of analysis.

The authors just mention the fact of its being a representative book of the very

end of the period, but why not one of the many novels of manners so popular

at the time? It could be argued that Gothic convention does not gather as much

representation of relevant social politeness codes as novels of manners do.

A last group covers all dealings with variation and change in eighteenth-century

English. Much relevance is given in the volume to dialects and regional variation.


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Bernd Kortmann and Susanne Wagner in chapter 14 (Changes and continuities in

dialect grammar) reivindicate the use of dialects in linguistic research and provide

an insightful commentary of the existing catalogues of Late Modern English dialectfeatures. Chapters 12 and 13 are devoted entirely to the cases of Scotland and

Ireland. Charles Jones in Nationality and standardisation in eighteenth-century

Scotland, revises standardisation in relation to nationalistic ideology. Long and

careful revision of English attitudes towards Scots in specific texts is provided.

Thomas Sheridan and his desire for a national language is brought up as are many

other attempts to promote national Scottish standards. There are other examples

such as James Adams (1799) and Alexander Scot of the Caledonian Scotch (232).

Raymond Hickey in chapter 13 (English in eighteenth-century Ireland) analyses

the complexity of the situation of language change, as English language replacesIrish after the seventeenth century. He firmly proves that literature brings about

a lot of information on language, and he studies caricatures, the Stage Irishman,

the boundaries between Congreve, Farquhar, Goldsmith and Sheridan. He brings

to light texts where Irish characters speak, and presents Swift as resisting change

in the language (forgetting Swifts devotion to language in Gullivers Travels). His

very interesting contribution adds the influence of Ulster Scots and their literature

(Rhyming Weavers).

In general, the volume is amazing because of its rigorous use of sources and

written evidence. Chapters are very well supported theoretically with relevant

references to updated works and overwhelming knowledge of traditional sources

(many chapters are strongly supported by a detailed state of the question or

history of the topics examined). A reader fond of eighteenth-century literary works

will enjoy the reading, finding important data and anecdotic details of well known

authors and their concerns with language. In sum, the volume by leading scholars

from historical linguistic area successfully provides a scholarly piece of research to

many other areas of English studies.

Received version 17 April 2011

Revised version accepted 01 June 2011

Eighteenth Century English Ideolog

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